‘“I’ve been excited ever since,” Pardy said Sunday inside the First Niagara Center after the first training camp session. “Coming in here now, it’s a new start, it’s a new team, it’s a new conference – a whole new outlook on the game this year. So I’m excited about this start here.”’

‘Actually, it was disappointing, but I understand it,” Sabres general manager Darcy Regier said Monday inside the First Niagara Center following an intrasquad scrimmage. “(Isles general manager) Garth Snow called me just before waiver time to give me a courtesy call to let me know they were going to take him.”‘

‘If the Sabres really wanted to live by the credo that Terry Pegula announced when he bought the team—”Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres’ reason for existence is to win the Stanley Cup”—they would have worried less about trying to protect Miller from hobgoblins, and more on giving him the kind of support he needs, in the form of goals.’

‘As for his night Grigorenko said, “I felt good. I’m in pretty good shape, I skated well today. I had a few good chances, but couldn’t score. Thanks to my partners, they created so many chances for me and it’s an honor to play with those guys so I’m really happy to be on this line and this team.”’

‘Next to the size of the crowd, the reaction the players would come out to was another big question. However, being booed by the hometown crowd did not cross Jason Pominville’s mind. The captain believes that, “We have such good fans, I mean, I think in different cities some players might get the blame, some owners might get the blame, but I think here…the only thing is people are just excited to get hockey back and I think that’s what it’s all about. That’s what’s so fun about this city.”’